A Thousand Times
by Silverwing013
Summary: Spirit World ran through the scenario a thousand times and Yusuke Urameshi never upset the balance. He never died to save the kid, never came back to life, never became aware of spirit energy, never fought against demons, and never did any work of a spirit detective. Right?
1. Chapter 1

_"It's funny, Yusuke," Botan said._  
_"None of us were expecting you to die today;_  
_you've thrown us all for a loop._  
_Run someone with your credentials through that scenario_  
_**A Thousand Times**_  
_and they never would've saved a kid like that._  
_No one saw it coming and quite frankly, we haven't prepared a place for you yet."_

* * *

**A Thousand Times**

Seeing the people beginning to shift to the sides of the street and shopkeepers blocking their doors, he perked up rather than shy away like the rest. It meant it was a chance to catch a street punk by the name of Yusuke Urameshi. A shoplifter, a delinquent with a penchant for a smoke every now and again, an attitude at anyone of true authority, and a mouth not shy to be dirty around complete strangers.

He had once offered Kuwabara a stolen smoke a while back.

It was a weird moment from his rival, but an offer he had vehemently declined.

Noting the hunch of the shoulders and the familiar tones of the currently grumbling voice, Kuwabara brightened. His gang stepped up, surrounding the other boy, as he strode forwards with his shoulders back, standing tall.

"Urameshi," he greeted confidently. Today was the day. Took a while to hunt his rival down since he bailed school early, but the usual streets were where he and his gang found the punk.

"Hey Kuwabara, you're conscious. I'm not used to _that_."

Kuwabara straightened in indignation and for any possible intimidation. Considering it was his so far unbeatable rival, Yusuke Urameshi, intimidation was near impossible to manage. Still, at least he was beating his rival in height. Grabbing Urameshi by the collar, he defended himself. "That was a cheap shot last time and I was only knocked out for a little bit, okay? Now I'm back and I'm going to beat your face up so bad even kittens won't look at you!"

"Hm." His rival leaned forward, a dangerous grin spreading across his face. "Ah. So sorry you caught me on a bad day. It makes me a real jerk."

Startled, Kuwabara jolted back as Urameshi jumped upwards and out of his grasp. No! And with himself free, Urameshi proceeded to wail into him with a crazy ease compared to the past few challenges. Bad day. Kuwabara groaned as he lay in the street.

"You win," he heard Okubo say.

"Don't hurt us," said Kirishima.

Not hearing one of his gang members, Kuwabara sent a single silent praise to Sawamura.

"Ah. I feel better." Well, his rival certainly did sound far more pleased than when Kuwabara first approached him. Trying to move his body, he shifted about just enough to see Urameshi walking away, annoyed to see any tension in his shoulders gone. Even _whistling_ as he walked away. That bastard.

His friends rushed over to him at Urameshi's exit. Sawamura first. Concerned, his second in charge that he tended to rely on opinion more than the other two, spoke up. "Kuwabara. Maybe you should stop picking so many fights with Urameshi, huh?"

Except for that opinion. Kuwabara was certain he would one day beat the other street punk, taking him down some notches for his more delinquent actions, like shoplifting.

"That makes it zero wins and one hundred and fifty-six losses."

He burst up at that, fist up and ready. "NOOO!" Gritting himself, he assured himself. "I almost had him that time." And after he declared it, his body gave up on holding himself up at that moment.

"Kuwabara!"

"I'm okay, I'm okay," he reassured them all quickly. "Just got a bit light headed there. Sat up too fast."

"Okay Kuwabara," Sawamura agreed lightly. "Let's get you up now and patched up before your sister finds out."

He scowled. "She'll know anyway," he grumbled irritated. "Shizuru's good at that." The other guys glanced at each other and shared a chuckle at his expense.

"There's the Kuwabara intuition we all know."

"Shaddup," he defended. It was a weak argument against it all. He took Sawamura and Kirishima's help to get back up. Okubo took the chance to continue the amusement to defuse the situation of him losing, _again_, to his rival.

"Last time she called you out on it when we rounded the block corner."

"Calling you weak," Kirishima recalled and piped in.

He saw Sawamura fight a smile, but it came out anyway. "Then smacked us all over the head, calling us idiots who can't keep you from overdoing himself, then pounded into you."

Kuwabara groaned. "I didn't overdo it today. I just bet she'll know," he groused loudly.

Laughing at him, Kuwabara pulled himself upright again as the other two's grips loosened for a moment. He just knew he was going to hear about getting too excited and rushing in when it should have been obvious his rival was already having a bad day. He winced to himself. Yeah, he definitely would. Knowing his sister's senses, she'd know he'd noticed but still rushed in and spewing challenges.

Somehow, he felt Shizuru had the advantage in her sixth strength compared to him, even if he had an edge on sensing life threatening danger rather than her read on people. With her insistence and spirits coming to him more than her, he had gained a better read on people than most around him, but he still lacked her speedy pin point precision. He'd sense it and react to it, but wouldn't realize the specifics until later.

Urameshi wasn't life threatening, but perhaps he'd be well off to remember not to push it when his rival was having a bad day.

Kuwabara frowned. Seemed that punk had been having those far more often than when he first began challenging him. Today had been the worst yet. Truth be told, he worried every now and then about Urameshi taking a worse turn. Cocky idiot insisted on being solo and doing crap that could get him in real trouble in life already.

"I'll get Urameshi yet."

And he totally saw Sawamura shake his head at him from the corner of his eye.

* * *

AN: To be honest, this is a reposting up of a story I took down some time ago. Because I knew if I went all out, it was going to be a long haul, yet I still find myself taken in with the idea of this 'What If'. This is set from Kuwabara's perspective and starts the day Yusuke died, except this important starting day goes as Spirit World expected. I'll be posting up the chapters for this first part daily (presuming there will be no technological issues) and plan to do the same with each part, section, of the story. There will be time between, but once I start posting a part, I plan to get them up fairly quickly. There are 10 chapters set for the first part.


	2. Chapter 2

**A Thousand Times**

"Hey Kuwabara," Kirishima called out the greeting. Spotting his friend with the rest of his gang, Kuwabara jogged through the school gates with a goofy grin. His classmates in the schoolyard were muttering to themselves, but he ignored the rumor mill whispering the 'did you hear' and all the 'guess what happened's traveling around the place. He'd hear the real important stuff he wanted to know from his gang anyway.

"Hey guys," he returned cheerfully.

Sawamura eyed him carefully. "Looks like yesterday never happened," he commented. "Sore?"

"Yeah," Kuwabara admitted easily to his friends. The comment wasn't really a surprise. He had always recovered quicker from a fight. "But nothing Kazuma Kuwabara can't handle!"

"Speaking of yesterday," Okubo segued. "A little boy was injured from a car accident last night outside my work area. Lucked out. Nothing but a few scratches. But a huge crowd formed because Urameshi started beating up a pedestrian."

"What?!" Kuwabara shouted loudly. "How dare Urameshi sink so low to—"

Sawamura laid a hand onto his shoulder and shook his head. "Everyone here is talking about that part, but Okubo was telling us something everyone else either doesn't know or are leaving out."

Kuwabara glanced away, searching around all his classmates and picked up the rest of the rumor mill mutterings. So this is what all had them going this morning.

"He did it on behalf of the little kid," Okubo stated. Kuwabara looked back to Okubo, eyebrows raised. "It was the driver of the car he was giving a beating and screaming at. I don't care for Urameshi much, I don't even think he knew the kid, so he may have just found a good target to yell at, but it was odd to see him seeming to care about the kid."

Kuwabara blinked. "Huh." He took in the information and then puffed up his chest. Way to go Urameshi! There was hope for his rival yet. "This just proves Urameshi is perfect for my rival! He ain't so different from us!"

The three of them all directed disbelieving gazes at him. Maybe Urameshi's approach was far off the mark, but he _did_ make a stand on behalf of an innocent child…right?

"I can still see him walking up, screaming at him, and then putting that punch in the poor guy's face," Okubo said. He shook his head. "I don't know how you still challenge a guy like that Kuwabara."

"How could I not challenge my rival," Kuwabara sent back. "I will defeat Urameshi. He thinks he's a tough punk, but I'll prove him wrong. One on one, I'll beat him fair and square so he can't deny it either. Bastard doesn't even act like he sees me as a rival, but I know the truth. I'm the top punk. And he always rises to my challenges unlike any other punks in the area."

"Yeah, that's true," Kirishima allowed. Kuwabara grinned, knowing it was true. However much Urameshi acted like he was an annoyance, his rival never backed down from him. Always made Kuwabara worth the time, unlike some of the small fry he waved off and ignored completely. "But it still remains true with how the record stands at zero to one hundr—"

"I'll change that!" Kuwabara bellowed, declaring it with a proud fist thrown upwards. And then he went red in embarrassment as he noticed his classmates shying away and muttering on his outburst.

"How about we head to class," Sawamura asked neutrally. Kuwabara nodded in agreement, taking the help handed out.

"Yeah, let's get going guys."

With that, he and his gang left the schoolyard, Kuwabara giving apologetic looks to a few of his classmates. Most smiled back but a few also rushed away. He huffed at that, not liking how some of his classmates continued to judge him based off his taller frame and rougher appearance. Shizuru said some people never got past judging people so shallowly and to ignore those idiots.

Which sounded wrong coming out of the mouth of a beautician.

But then again, when did his sister pull her punches with idiots?

For the millionth time he wondered how the hell his cynical sister got enough business to make a living with her blunt words and actions. Maybe she was mellower there, he thought dubiously.

* * *

AN: Going into the day after now, proving that in this case, things have gone as Spirit World has expected. Yusuke did not die for the child, for Masaru. But, hey, Kuwabara makes a point that Yusuke did make a stand for the kid. Well, without this all important event, what happens next?


	3. Chapter 3

**A Thousand Times**

For the most of the day, Kuwabara had been feeling an odd niggling feeling, but it wasn't until after they scared off a younger gang of junior high boys from another school from their Sarayashiki area that he was hit full force. "Ehwh!"

"Something the matter Kuwabara?" Kirishima asked.

"Do you think we're being followed?" Sawamura gave the cursory question.

"I'm feeling a chill," Kuwabara responded simply.

"Gee, maybe it's the flu."

He shook his head, knowing better of what had been giving a niggling feeling all day. Sawamura was probably correct in the routine question he asked whenever this happened. "I doubt it."

"It's just the tickle feeling kicking in."

Confused Okubo turned. "The tickle?"

"That's what we call it when Kuwabara starts detecting the presence of ghosts around us."

"Oh."

Kuwabara added into Sawamura's explanation. "Yeah, it's true. I've had the tickle ever since Kindergarten. Voices chase me home at night. Scary old women whisper things to me in my dreams. Sometimes they're nice. Usually they're not. I think it's 'cause they know I'm kind of a natural leader."

Suddenly startled by the movement behind him, Kuwabara whirled about, listening close to the being he could sense just right there. "The ghost-spirit is behind me man, it made a noise."

Okubo spoke behind him, "Are you sure?"

Going to the typical question, Sawamura steadily asked, "Is it the scary old woman with the axe again?"

"Naw." Kuwabara waved the notion off. This thing felt way different than that woman. It felt younger, more pleasant, curious, and some bit of a feeling he had only felt before at the scene of a terrible accident. A certain calm, a balm over his nerves. "It sounds more like some sort of…cheerful messenger or something. But it's giving me the hivey jeevies."

He glanced around the area, trying to get a sense of where it was exactly or what it could be. It seemed aware of his spiked interest as it was drifting back and a childlike curiosity came from around the corner. Kuwabara puzzled at it, hesitating, not sure if he should check it out or keep away from that vague feeling of accident incoming. He inched closer. Sawamura followed, Kirishima and Okubo just behind with a heightened tightness filling up their tense frames.

A rotting apple smashed and smushed onto Kuwabara's face. He screeched, flailing at the disgusting bit of squishy unexpectedly going up his nose. Somehow, once he shook it free, he found himself on top of Kirishima. Okubo was reaching down to help, but Sawamura stared unamused down into the alley. Urameshi had fallen to the dirty ground, arms around his stomach, his eyes crying tears from how hard he was laughing.

"Urameshi!"

His rival laughed harder, failing to sound like a ghost. "Oooahahahahoooo!"

"That's it Urameshi! Prepare to get your butt kicked!"

Urameshi shot up, delight on his face. "Oooh! I'm sooo scared! Bring it on Kuwabara! Sure you're not too scared by the wee little ghosties to fight me?"

He surged forward and landed a punch on his rival for the insult against those of the other world. That was never a smart thing to do. Urameshi delivered right back and then some. Which made it…

"Zero wins to a hundred and fifty-seven losses."

"NOOO!"

* * *

AN: The 'tickle feeling' has made it's appearance. As much as I'm laughing with Yusuke for his antics, I'm just as equally with Kuwabara. Ick! Gross! Icky, icky! And how dare you make light of other worldly things! I shake my fist at you, Yusuke. From a distance. Of course.


	4. Chapter 4

**A Thousand Times**

That ghost-spirit from a few days ago was still following him. It made him antsy at the observing interest when for all curious and cheerful it felt, it still radiated accident incoming to his senses. Tenser at the continued attention, he moved quickly to head home after school, determined to keep his word. Also, the ghost-spirit was not as prominent at his house. A silver lining to this sure to be crap week.

Kuwabara was never completely sure of why Mr. Akashi pressed down on their outside fighting with how the teacher normally acted toward students who did, but he knew this new endeavor wasn't to be tested. He always seemed a little too pleased at handing out terrible grades to those students. Like him. And his gang.

A week long absence of fighting hopefully wouldn't lead to too many other gangs noticing and taking advantage of Sarayashiki Junior High students. Placing Okubo's part time job at risk warred against his other classmates being unprotected in Kuwabara's mind. Bashing up those Kazenaga punks had been for a female classmate in the first place. But Okubo's mom, little brother and sisters relied on him to bring that little extra money home. The loss of Okubo's job was permanent compared to the notion of a week off.

Kuwabara winced and moved faster. The other gangs were sure to notice the loss before the end of the day. The students in this area would at least be fine today, he tried to reassure himself. A day was one thing, but the following six days were going to rub him raw for sure.

Or even shorter than a day to catch up. He froze at the sight of the three punks from Kazenaga standing under the bridge.

"Kuwabara, we've been waiting!"

"Now's really not the time!" He spun and ran, reminding himself against the weakness of running from the fight. It's for Okubo, for Okubo, Okubo.

"What is this, Kuwabara? Are you actually running away like a sissy?"

Use of that word shot right into the cowardly action of running from the fight. Kuwabara skidded to a stop, arm shaking at how hard his fist clenched. He turned to look back at the guys from Kazenaga. "Oh, no. I'm not going anywhere!"

"He _does_ have the guts to face us without his slave boys!"

"Especially with the ass kicking we're about to give him!"

Sissy? Slave boys? Ass kicking on him? He ran and vaulted over the fence back to the punks, his honor hurting and solidifying.

"Talk all you want! Let's see what you can do!" He swore he could hear Mr. Akashi laughing at him, but Kuwabara was firm in his decision. "But I'm not gonna fight back, so you just hit me as much as you're gonna and let me get out of here!"

* * *

AN: The expected. And this ghost-spirit. Hmmm.


	5. Chapter 5

**A Thousand Times**

It felt as though first thing the next morning Kuwabara was hit with a one-two punch. Okay, more like probably three.

He was running late from the spiel his sister had made sure to forcefully grab him for before he could sneak out the front door. He'd been lucky enough to avoid questions the night before thanks to everyone's work hours keeping them out late, falsifying an early night for himself. This morning, not so lucky with Shizuru. Running late meant he missed out on meeting the guys in the schoolyard.

Instead, he ran headfirst into Urameshi as he rounded the gate. Of course. Urameshi, if he came at all, strolled in with no concept of time. And it figured Kuwabara literally ran into his rival with his luck.

Urameshi was about ready to yell at him, but then his eyes went wide. "Whoa Kuwabara. Who beat you up worse than I do? There's a face kitties would really fear. Wait." He snapped his fingers and grinned. "I'm pretty sure your face does that anyway."

"Shut it Urameshi! It does not! Don't you realize the bell ringing means we gotta be running?"

Urameshi snorted. "You maybe. But I'm going to take my piece of freedom after ditching harpy mouth. Seriously Kuwabara. Who did the beauty job? I've really got to go see them."

"Out of my way moron!"

Kuwabara did some ditching of his own and scrambled around lazy Urameshi to race into the school building. He could have been thankful the bell was the warning bell and not the last, meeting up with the guys before class still, but his luck didn't hold out. Again.

Kirishima instantly forgot to give any greeting at seeing his face, immediately asking about it. Sawamura and Okubo spun around to look. He laughed it off the concern, especially at Okubo's face pinching with worry. "Those brats from Kazenaga got the best of me, but I never hit them back Okubo."

"You should have fought."

"It's nothing I can't take," he assured his friend.

"Kuwabara!" They all looked to see Mr. Akashi walking in their direction. "Are those new bruises today?

"I got piled on by those guys you said were harmless, but I didn't touch them!"

"I'm _so_ impressed." Yet, Kuwabara glared. Mr. Akashi didn't sound anywhere near impressed and his smile was more of a leer. "But I talked to some of the other teachers yesterday about our arrangement, and they said I was too easy on you."

"WHAT?!"

"I was just as surprised as you are, but they were convinced! So, in addition to not fighting, you must all score fifty percent or higher on the Physical Science test!"

"Hey," Okubo protested. "You can't just keep adding conditions!"

"I'm afraid I just did." Mr. Akashi passed through them and they parted out of the way, struck dumb by the offhand addition. Then, as he walked away, reminded them of the consequences of not doing as he said. "And if one of you fails, Okubo's job goes out the window."

Kuwabara stood shaking, not wanting to state it out loud and worry his friends. He'd just been assuring them there was nothing he couldn't take for Okubo.

Kirishima scoffed at the teacher's back. "Please! We can pass that test easy if we study a little! I got, like, a forty-five on my last Physical Science test!"

"No worries here," Sawamura confidently said. "I scored a fifty-seven. How about you, Okubo?"

Okubo was far more concerned. "Yeah, I got a thirty-nine, so if I try a little harder I'll be good. We're gonna be okay, right Kuwabara? What did you get?"

No. Lie, don't worry them. Otherwise their focus would be ruined. But he couldn't be anything but honest. Angry at himself, Kuwabara clenched his fists, panicking and cried out how bad he was at the last of the written tests.

Shizuru lecturing him, almost being late, running into Urameshi, failing to reassure the guys, an added addition of written tests which was a sore point on top of being sore from the beat down he allowed yesterday. And it wasn't even first period yet! If this was his morning, what else could go wrong today? He could reassure his friends all he wanted that he had all night tonight to study, but he feared his luck wasn't going to run that way.


	6. Chapter 6

**A Thousand Times**

One of the good things about gangs who roamed the streets was that they were fairly predictable. Fights didn't take place on the heavily traveled streets, but in alleyways and the more scenic places like parks or waterways. Kuwabara kept close to the road as he hurried down the busy street and stared straight ahead instead of hurting himself with seeing any of the typical suspects lingering in those back alleyways. Fighting in defense of the people jumped and pulled away was still fighting.

Gangs also weren't known for occupying bookstores either. It'd be a real special kind of scholastic student if most went in after them. Or someone like Kuwabara that day. He ducked in, hoping his luck didn't return to the kind his morning held.

"Let's see, one of these has got to help."

He flipped open the study guide book. It was bad enough this science test was an assortment of all sciences. Geology, chemistry, and biology. Geology was a pain, but chemistry and biology came with labs. This test wasn't a lab though and that's what he had the real difficulty on. For all he actually liked the health type ones, the specific details and names always slipped his mind. It was stuff that made you up and could affect you. How could someone _not_ get into that?

Still, he squinted at the book open in his hands. What could it give him that would help with the details and memorizing specific words? Like could it help him remember the types of volcanoes or the elements of the periodic table or names of cells?

He looked back up to the shelf, rows of study help books sitting in front of him. Overwhelmed, he wondered if it made any difference to which one he choose. Kuwabara didn't need something explaining and giving more things to memorize, just a different way to remember what he already needed to memorize.

Then, a flash of familiar elated ferocity hit his radar and his peripheral vision. Urameshi. Years of reactions had him whipping his head to look and shifting his stance. Okubo, he reminded himself harshly. Except the face outside was just as familiar and practically ingrained in him to raise challenge to it.

Except there stood outside were three punks Kuwabara also knew. The same three who usually found him every couple of weeks to challenge him. The number play was interesting, but Kuwabara typically defeated them. And it'd been a couple of weeks since he defeated them at the baseball diamond. They'd found him. But apparently his rival found them first.

Who Kuwabara had, painfully, never defeated. This screamed bad news all over it. Especially as Urameshi was inclined lately to bad days which made him even more particularly brutal in Kuwabara's challenges. Yeah, Urameshi's entire demeanor and intent gaze on those three was screeching the bad news.

Kuwabara rushed to the register and hastily paid for the study book he had first pulled off the shelf. It was over before he made it out.

"Urameshi!"

His rival looked up from his handiwork. "Hey Kuwabara. Surprised that Band-Aid on your forehead isn't Hello Kitty themed. Please tell me these wussies," he said with a jerk of a thumb to the three. "Were not the ones who gave you that beauty makeover. I mean, come on, my work is amazing. Especially in bringing out all the reds and blues of your cheeks."

"What the hell Urameshi?!"

"We didn't even challenge _you_," groaned out the one with the blond mohawk. "Like we're freaking insane."

They weren't. Kuwabara slide partly in front of the three, itching to pay it back for them. There was no way they would challenge Urameshi, even less to his rival accepting the challenge or acknowledging it. Urameshi snorted. "So not my fault you bragged on beating down on Kuwabara. I thought you three _were_ a challenge."

"Maybe bragging for later, because they always tend to find me every couple of weeks, but what's wrong with you Urameshi?" Kuwabara wanted to shake the punk. "Seriously, picking a fight on one of the main streets? And _you_ making the challenge? You're not some power crazed and picking on the weak, a real jerk. You never start anything with anyone except with your mouth. I've been your rival long enough to know you're actually a nice guy under the delinquent face. Starting a fight, no, just pounding down on guys who didn't ask for it, isn't your style."

His brown eyes glared up at Kuwabara. "Fine asshole," he snapped. "I'll go back to playing nice like I usually do, mostly 'cause I actually really don't give a shit about these people. Besides, you're the only one stupid enough to ask for me to pound the crap out of you. Who's the real moron here? Your face didn't even need my beauty tips now, did it?" Urameshi sneered at him, the vibe around him winding up to gritty and incensed. "You probably just let them tear into you since you haven't asked me to put you in that state for you today. See if I bother responding to any future challenges from a moron like you anymore."

Kuwabara blinked, both confused and highly irritated at his rival as Urameshi stalked away. "What the hell crawled up his butt?"

"I dunno," groaned the one with the hair almost copied like his own. "Kind of sounded like he dropped you from being his rival."

"Oh my god I'm sorry let me help you up!" Suddenly reminded at the three still there, he hastened to help them up one by one and check them over if there was any injury truly concerning.

Urameshi had always been a bit strange, but this topped up there. The focus had clearly been at Kuwabara. His rival was angry, true. Yet the whole encounter was strange. Weird. Was Urameshi letting his more numerous bad days led to actually being the kind of real jerk on the streets who pulled stunts like that? No. Kuwabara was sure his rival was worth it, worth the challenge.

The whole thing didn't feel that way. He wasn't quite sure what it felt like. Not in any way he could read into and figure out. His sister would know better had she been there, but he couldn't put his finger on what caused his rival to be so odd this afternoon. Definitely odd.

What was even weirder was he didn't even feel relieved after realizing his rival had inadvertently given him an out with their usual bouts while Okubo's job was on the line.

* * *

AN: Study time! And...huh, that was weird with Yusuke.


	7. Chapter 7

**A Thousand Times**

"Why?"

For the life of him, Kuwabara couldn't figure out the reason behind Urameshi standing in his bedroom, a supposedly casual visit to his house. And mere days after acting oddly. Not the actions of a rival.

"Well…I figure…you and Keiko keep insisting on being part of my life. I know she's better off without me, she's way too smart for a guy like me…and if you're stupid enough to keep wanting to find me… I figured I should be stupid enough to go find you sometimes."

Kuwabara stared, eyes going wide at the farther implication of his rival not being just a rival. Urameshi kept his eyes on the wall to the right of him, the Megallica poster. He saw the other teen as just a rival, his gang being the friends to him, but… With how easily Yusuke seemed to defeat him every time, his rival had no real reason to take up on every single one of Kuwabara's challenges. Every single time Kuwabara sought out Urameshi to fight him, his rival never denied him the fight. Never.

He'd never really thought much over about it, the fact that Urameshi was never with any others, dismissing it as arrogance of his rival, thinking he too great compared. But Kuwabara knew Urameshi got picky on some of the idiots who challenged him. He had just thought like any other punk in the area, that Urameshi always agreeing to a fight against him made them rivals. Every punk in the area knew of their rivalry. But was that even what it was?

"But at least I'm not so stupid to score a measly seven," Urameshi snickered at him.

The color drained out of Kuwabara's face, then filled up with pure red. "Hey! It's not honorable to look through teacher's grade books! And what did you get then you punk?!"

Smirking, Urameshi balanced a pencil on the tip of his finger. "Twelve," he answered proudly.

Kuwabara felt the heat leave him and he collapsed lifelessly back into his chair. "Oh god, I'm dead."

Urameshi snorted. "Wrong. I'm not pounding your face in right now. Twelve is better than your 'I'm-so-stupid' score of seven. 'Sides, always been better at labs."

Kuwabara slumped. "Same. That's why I bought study books. None of my family's study methods help. Probably make my test scores worse," he muttered.

His rival, er, classmate, uh, fellow punk perked up. Perhaps he needed to decide what he thought of Urameshi later after all of this. "Like what sort of methods?"

Who also seemed to hear his lower tones earlier. He winced. "Eeeh, well, my sister's method is especially painful. Not a single one of these study books even mention her version of studying. So it probably isn't at all helpful."

"What's her method?"

Kuwabara scowled and Urameshi reached forward to poke at him with the finger not being used to balance the pencil. Urameshi grinned and waggled his eyebrows. Sighing, he gave up the answer, "Shizuru thinks bashing all the wrong answers out of me is best."

Unsurprisingly, Urameshi cracked up laughing. The previously balanced pencil rolled across the floor. "No wonder you're so quick to recover whenever I pound you!"

He stilled, standing tall, his fist still upraised at the other chortling away. "Uh…" What exactly was that supposed to be? A compliment? It was one of the things he prided on in his fights with Urameshi. The fact he could last longer against him and able to challenge him sooner than he noticed others were able to bounce back.

"I think we can just ask and answer questions from whatever, but if you want me to smack you over the head on every incorrect answer, I can." Urameshi snickered, lip twitching up at him.

He glared down at his rival and then grinned back, baiting. "So you want to play big sister?"

Kuwabara barked out into laughter as Urameshi choked, eyes going wide. "Hell no! You a freakin' idiot Kuwabara?! Does it look like I'm one of my mother's transvestite party friends?!"

"What the shit?!" Kuwabara swirled to gape at Urameshi.

Smacking the top of the Physical Science book, Urameshi agreed loudly. "That's what I said!"

Growing annoyed at the off topic discussions that somehow led to his rival's home life, Kuwabara covered his face with his hand, groaning. "So off topic."

Quick as he could, Urameshi responded. "_You_ started it," he said sulkily back and slouched into the chair. Like a little child putting blame on anyone…oh, right. Kuwabara had kind of started it by sharing some of his home life to Urameshi. He frowned. The other had asked. Peering over at his rival over his hand, he watched the other scowl and flip the cover of the schoolbook back and forth.

Kuwabara didn't think rival fit this situation.

"Okay. Ask me a question. You know the answer to it, right?"

Pushing himself back up in the chair, Urameshi snorted. "Of course I do. I got the whole book in my hands and _you_ don't. What chapters are we on?"

His eyebrow twitched. Urameshi was useless. Maybe not in a fight, but he was useless in this challenge. "Gimme! I was studying that properly!"

The next thing he knew was that Urameshi's bare foot was against his chest and he was unable to snag his Physical Science book back. Urameshi grinned, casually flipping through the book.

"Like I know the chapter," he sniggered. "But I do know what page it's on. Keiko didn't trust me to study without some sort of reminder and wrote the big question page numbers onto my arm. Why is the color of blood red?"

"Because of all the red blood cells! They color it," Kuwabara answered quickly. "That's easy."

"But what's the pigment?"

Kuwabara blinked at the other, and then it hit him. "Hemoglobin! I forgot!"

Leaning back in the chair lazily, Urameshi asked the next question from the book. "And what causes your blood to clot?"

"Platelets." He smiled at himself, proud that he seemed to be remembering all of the information. Somehow, it had sunk in and the panic he had earlier was eased. He knew this stuff after all.

Urameshi nodded. "Yes…good, good."

* * *

AN: Actual studying. With...Yusuke? Well, how did this still wind up happening?


	8. Chapter 8

**A Thousand Times**

Kuwabara's chest clenched a little. Mr. Akashi seemed pleased and he knew the teacher after his time at Sarayashiki junior high. He wasn't exactly a teacher filled with praise even for the most dedicated students.

He looked at the test in his hands, knowing that without a doubt, it should be saying 53 in large red numbers. Not… "No! That's wrong!"

"And what's really painful is that you were so close!" He was so close. Where did his answers go wrong? Or did he do the math incorrectly? No, it should be 53, Kuwabara would swear it. "But I'm afraid a promise is a promise, young man. I'll go notify Okubo's employers."

He let Okubo down! Okubo and his whole family! He couldn't have failed!

"But I checked it," he protested loudly. No! There was no way he let down Okubo! He made a promise.

"Oh well. I guess there are many things you can't do right."

Kuwabara searched the test frantically, still shocked and in disbelief at his test results. He knew this wasn't right! He checked all the answers himself!

Freezing, his eyes locked onto the bottom of the page. His hands shook.

He…he couldn't believe it! That no-good teacher erased his last answer!

He spun around, test crumpling in his hands. "Who does he think he is?!" He knew this teacher enjoyed seeing students fail far more than succeeding, but to actually make sure he failed? To cause Okubo to lose his job, lose any means of keeping his whole family afloat! He just destroyed a whole family's well-being just to see one student fail a single test?!

Pissed, Kuwabara ran. "I'll show you!"

Grabbing the shocked and dishonorable man by the collar, he yelled and threw the punch. With a lurch, it stopped just before he could put his fist into the man's face. And he realized he could hear Urameshi bellowing into his ear. Urameshi?

"Remember Okubo! All the poundings you took for him! Punch this teacher, and that's erased! Kuwabara!"

But…Okubo's job. And his family.

Shaking, wanting to do something against the man who just ruined not just a week of taking poundings, but every effort Kuwabara and his friends had made to make sure Okubo and his family were going to remain okay, he let go of the man.

Crashing to the floor, Mr. Akashi laughed. "It would have been worth being hit just to see you expelled." Kuwabara bit down on his tongue, forcing his fists to remain at his sides, still shaking. The older man looked up at him, triumphant. "But either way the test score is marked down as 48. I got the power you see!"

Yeah. Kuwabara saw. The man had power that should not have been given to him and they all had stupidly agreed under the threat of their friend suffering if they did not play along. It's just Kuwabara thought he never thought even that teacher would never be that dirty and dishonorable. They knew the teacher had the odds stacked against them, but to pull such a stunt that delivered such a blow? He swallowed and decided to not tell the others about this. He'd just have to say he failed.

He trudged along the hallway, knowing he had to find his gang and break the news so they could determine what they could do to help Okubo and his family.

Kuwabara completely forgot Urameshi was still back there in his grief.


	9. Chapter 9

**A Thousand Times**

"What happened?" Confused, he glanced down at the female classmate and found her face familiar. She was…cute. Who was she? He'd seen that chestnut hair before, he thought slowly as he eyed the two pig tails.

"Uh…"

"What happened?" She punctuated the question again. "Yusuke went out of his way to ask why you've been so beaten up the past week and now he's gone and been stupid again and gotten himself expelled! All he told me was that Mr. Akashi deserved it, well…he said it in different words and played it off like it was nothing, but I know it wasn't! What happened yesterday?"

He stared at her. That's right, she was that girl who was brave enough among their classmates to not be bothered by rumors of Urameshi. Everyone else shuffled away from him, but she would be seen walking with him whenever he showed up to school. Fearless. Kuwabara felt as though he should know her. With her directness, he figured it was likely she'd spoken to him before. Her name was lost on him though despite knowing he probably knew it.

Kuwabara frowned. "Nothing? I passed with a 53. We all passed it." Baffled at the first part, his rival not acting like the word entailed, he carefully asked, "He asked about the deal?"

She blinked and looked back up, vaguely confused. "Why wouldn't he? You're the closest thing to a friend he has. I don't get the whole rival thing between you two and he thinks any idea of you being his rival is a joke, but other than myself and his mother, you're probably the next stable thing in his life. He doesn't have many friends. Just me really. You're probably the only other person that's the closest thing to a friend and he asked. So what really happened yesterday with Mr. Akashi?"

He froze. Friend? Well, Yusuke did help him study… And tended to joke to him about joining when he skipped school. Joke around him in general at times… And offered to him to try one of his smokes that one time. Kuwabara had questioned Urameshi really being his rival, but if Urameshi treated their…thing as being friends…what sort of messed up life did—

"That's right, he was there!" Kuwabara blurted it out. He went a bit red in the face as he saw her jolt. "Sorry," he mumbled. Embarrassed, he rubbed the back of his neck. He glanced back at the other guys of his gang, his good friends who had no clue of the real colors of Mr. Akashi being shown before Mr. Takenaka informed them of their passings. No clue.

Offering a weak smile at them, he looked back to his female classmate and motioned her a little ways down the hallway. Still cutely angry, she frowned a bit, but followed him away from his gang. "Okay. What happened?"

Biting his lip at the demand, Kuwabara looked back at her and tried to place the familiar face once again. He knew he had seen her around and she seemed close to Urameshi. Urameshi. "Well… See, technically we all passed and it's all good. Except Mr. Akashi uh…kind of…erased one of my answers…at first."

The girl's angry look faded into wide eyed shock. "He did what as a teacher? After that crooked sounding deal to have you four pull up your grades? Wait… Yusuke did seem suspicious when I told him what teacher made the no fighting and better test scores deal with you guys. I know Mr. Akashi isn't the most praising of teachers, but he's still a teacher."

"Still a man," Kuwabara pointed out with a stronger bite than he liked. "And a dishonorable one at that. I doubt even Urameshi is capable of that level of horridness even. He may be a punk that ignores a few laws, but he's…uh…wait! He's expelled!?"

Scowling, she jabbed a finger up at him. "Yes. I already said that! Because he said rat face deserved it!" Her eyes went wide and she slapped a hand over her mouth, and then mumbled beneath it. Kuwabara felt tempted to laugh. That was what Urameshi called Mr. Akashi that had her not willing to say earlier?

"Mr. Akashi. He thought Mr. Akashi deserved it. Uh…not that it was the proper measures to take against such an action considering it was by an adult figure of a teacher, but…far more understandable. Maybe we can still get him back and enrolled again."

Curiosity thrumming up, he asked. "What did Urameshi think that man deserved?"

An angry fire flashed across her face. At Urameshi or the teacher?

"It doesn't matter," she snipped tersely. She took in a calming breath. "I'll talk to Mr. Takenaka about the circumstances. He's always been fair, especially with Yusuke."

Kuwabara frowned. "Why's that?"

Looking more sad and tired, she sighed. "You don't know much about Yusuke, do you? His mother isn't the most…dependable at times. Yusuke does more fending for himself then he really should, so most of his methods aren't really…legal. It's only been the last few years he's realized he shouldn't be proud of himself for his means of independence."

Suddenly uncomfortable, he fidgeted. He'd not really started thinking of Urameshi outside of his challenge, a rival to beat, until lately. Now he had started, he kept finding more and more of his familiar rival that made his previous knowledge of him extremely pathetic.

"What about…his dad?" Hesitantly, he asked, finding himself being more drawn in to truly get to know Yusuke Urameshi.

His female classmate shook her head. "Yusuke's dad has never been around. The man of the house has always been Yusuke."

"Oh," he responded weakly.

"Yes, well," she trailed off. "Mr. Takenaka has always been fair, understanding Yusuke doesn't have much reason to care past taking care of himself. He should be willing to give Yusuke that chance for the better."

Kuwabara was both stunned and not surprised when he caught sight of Mr. Akashi later that day. He'd stopped to stare, along with the rest of the guys. The man's arm was up in a sling. Quickly, sensing not to go anywhere near the end result of what Urameshi did, Kuwabara tugged them away before Mr. Akashi noticed them.

It wasn't the worse, by far, of what Urameshi could deal out. The bone didn't look broken at all. Bruised all up under Mr. Akashi's sleeves? Yeah, Kuwabara would go with a yes there.

But it seemed as though Urameshi was running along the thought process of the unflattering nickname. For Mr. Akashi's face was all sorts of colors blooming up, along with the puffiness, showing off the bit on his face left untouched. His very pronounced front teeth.

How, in all that was known about the general teacher mindset of punks like them, especially with this teacher in the center of it, did she believe Mr. Takenaka wanted or could manage to get Urameshi unexpelled for assaulting a teacher?

* * *

AN: Enter Keiko. And finding out more about Yusuke than Kuwabara knew or wondered about before all of this.


	10. Chapter 10

**A Thousand Times**

In a weird way, knowing her association with Yusuke put this girl onto his radar. Or, maybe it's just because she was unexpectedly kind of cute. And loyal. The loyalty spoke up about what kind of girl she was and his growing hopes on what kind of guy Urameshi was. Shizuru maybe had a point. On why he'd always searched his classmate out for a fight. That he'd been sensing something underneath all of Urameshi's bravado all along. It had nothing to do with him being a glutton for punishment and a stubborn blockhead.

Nothing.

He threw his arm up in the air, waving widely. "Hey! Yukimura!"

The two other girls beside her squeaked, but she waved back as he rushed to catch up. "Hey Kuwabara. What brings you out this way?" Behind her, her two friends shared a devastated look, then tried to tug at her to keep walking. Shrugging their actions off, she waited for him to answer.

Feeling his face warm at her not allowing others to dictate who she talked to, and for him, Kuwabara glanced to the side, rubbing under his nose. Then startled a bit. And warmed again at how this even more showed what kind of person she was than before. She'd done it so easily. A result of many times due to her friendship with Yusuke.

Shivering, he rubbed at his arms, frowning to himself. With no longer having the need to run straight home to study, that ghost-spirit was hanging around him longer. He was beginning to get used to and ignoring the constant thrum of accident incoming feeling from it. That was steady, unchanging, part of what it must be. It still suddenly hit him at odd times like this, but. But the cheerfulness and other feelings of curiosity, amusement, and fascination varied. Which, none of that was anything terrible so—

"Kuwabara?"

"Ah!" He jerked at her voice. "Sorry, sorry! I just got to thinking about something! I didn't mean to ignore you Yukimura!"

She smiled at him. "It's okay. So what brings you this way? I think I've seen you come this way before, but not often."

Understanding. Not taking it the wrong way. Or bothered by his loudness or what he looked like… Kuwabara shook his head and answered her with a grin, shoulder shrugging up. "Just keeping an eye out for any punks looking for a fight."

"Figures from someone like him," whispered the one girl behind Yukimura.

"Oh!" Her face cleared. "Are you looking for Yusuke then?" Then darkened. "Because that punk left school early. Despite all that trouble of getting him not expelled, he skipped. Again. He's got to head home at some point though." She shrugged. "Or our place to take my parents up on their offer."

"Uh." He trailed off at that, startled past his automatic feelings of Urameshi skipping out of school. His outburst left him, emotions shifting. And became curious at another new personal tidbit and insight on his rival. The new curiosity won. "Their offer?"

"Oh. The same offer they give to me." Kuwabara frowned, catching her awkward shift and not sure what to make of it. Wanting to know, both of what was up with Yukimura as well as Urameshi, he pushed out his senses and tried to get a better sense off of her. It felt kind of…defensive? "Help out in our family restaurant and get to make your own meal."

"Do…do you not want to take over the family restaurant?" At her head snapping up to stare up at him, mouth parted to say something, he quickly backtracked his words at the reaction. "It's only you sounded kind of defensive about it."

She blinked. "I did?"

Annoyed, but still definitely hiding, the other girl tugged at Yukimura. "Let's get going Keiko." To which Yukimura absently shrugged off with that same familiarity as before.

"Er, it sounded like it to me. I didn't mean to say—"

"You're fine Kuwabara." Yukimura waved him off. Her mouth quirked up. "I never expected you to be so apologetic, not from the stories I've heard out of Yusuke."

"And just what has that punk gone around saying about me!?"

Her two friends screamed, pulling her away. Breathing in sharp at how he'd just yelled, fist up and riled, towering over Yukimura, Kuwabara pulled back and drew his body inward, hunching. A short and surprised, very much cute laugh, punctuated the air. And continued into amused giggles.

Stunned, Kuwabara looked back up from the ground to where Yukimura was laughing.

"He's a natural born complainer and insulter, don't worry about it Kuwabara. There's enough good stuff in there past his annoyance and bafflement of you always searching him out."

"He's my rival," he said back simply. But he found there wasn't as much heat behind the words. "To get stronger."

She let out a little laugh again. "I don't think Yusuke sees you as a rival. Neither do I. But in all his complaining about you, I think he admires why you're trying to get stronger, even if he doesn't think you'll ever get stronger than him." Her eyes rolled. "That's Yusuke for you. Always has to be the tough guy. Feel free to stop by our family restaurant later. Yukimura Restaurant. I'm sure my parents will be ecstatic to finally meet you."

Dumbfounded, Kuwabara nodded. "Thanks. Maybe. Uh, cool?"

Urameshi said good stuff? About him?

Admires him?

And finally meet him? Ecstatic?

"Oh! Kuwabara!" Yukimura spun around as she and her two friends continued walking. They groaned. "Don't worry too much about anyone looking to start trouble this way! Yusuke being here is enough to put a stop on anyone looking to make trouble! He's got this area!"

He nodded, numb. Made sense. It was why he and the guys didn't usually go this way after school. Admires him? Well, Yukimura said she thought, not that Urameshi really did.

"Wait!" Kuwabara spun himself back around, but Yukimura and her two friends were already gone. "Got this area? She can't mean, I mean, Urameshi is… No…"

Stunned, he ran the denial in his head, but it made too much sense.

The way Okubo had remarked on Urameshi pounding into the guy nearly running over a kid. How Urameshi was being weird on that day he went after those outside the bookstore and in what he said after, about not responding to challenges with Kuwabara letting himself be beaten up in the deal with Okubo's job on the line. Yukimura had said how Urameshi had asked her, so he'd apparently and possibly and was aware of the deal. He'd not challenged Urameshi in the days since the deal ended, so Kuwabara wasn't sure if it was being dropped as a rival, which rival hadn't been seeming the right word at all lately, or if he'd only done that for the time.

And there was when Urameshi came to his house. Helping with studying. Well, if you could call it that. The reason of switching it around with him searching Kuwabara out was odd, but looking back now…

And that offer to share that stolen smoke.

All the things Kuwabara had seen of the best of his rival making his rival worth it. He'd already known there was something worthwhile to Urameshi outside of his fights. Just…never really thought about it. Not like this. He'd only brought those moments up when defending Urameshi as his rival.

"He's got this area," Kuwabara repeated to himself.

Cheerful, amusement, and delight sparked up next to him. "Such a good influence on the others around you."

And he let out the least manliest inhuman screech, pitches high enough to scare off any small animals, leaping backward with his hand over his chest.

The sleeve of a pink kimono covered her titters, purply-pink kind of colored eyes—what the heck—sparkling with her amusement. Blue hair—again, what the heck—pulled up into a high ponytail moved with the breeze. Real. Not ghost-spirit. Real. How?!

Kuwabara stared, trying to figure her sudden appearance out. Ghost-spirit just became real. Like, he was _positive_ he could reach out and touch her. Clearly not floating somewhere in the air. Wind moving her kimono and hair. It was an odd color, but fitting to that cheerfulness she had going for her, whoever she was. And…and she was really very pretty.

"It's nice to officially meet you face to face Kuwabara," she said cheerfully. Her sleeve lowered, revealing her smile. Amusement rippled across the real-not-ghost-spirit again. "Hello. Sorry about that. I didn't think I'd startle you that much as you've shown awareness when I've been near you. Very impressive."

She nodded at him, approvingly. Kuwabara felt a jolt of the acknowledgement to his senses as it was just a thing with the Kuwabara family and with his friends. This was the first anyone had actually praised those abilities. He knew they were useful at times, but he was also exceedingly aware of problems he had because of them. That scary old woman with the axe right up there at the top.

"Oh, sorry! Where are my manners?" Those sparkling purply-pink eyes looked straight at him through strands of blue. She smiled widely. "I'm Botan."

* * *

AN: And this answers the ghost-spirit question. Along with being chapter 10, wrapping up the first chunk I was posting for this.


	11. Chapter 11

**A Thousand Times**

"You've proven to be the one we're looking for," she informed him.

"Whoa, whoa. What do you mean, I'm the one you're lookin' for?" He squinted at her, trying to suss out what she was on about. "This got anything to do with you following me around since the start of the month? And we?"

"Such high awareness, just as expected!" Botan pipped happily. "I must say though, even _I_ was surprised you noticed my reconnaissance right off the bat!"

She laughed. Kuwabara blinked, taken aback at her good cheer and the positive remark on his sensing abilities, his tickle feeling. Feeling his face flush, he turned his head and rubbed at the back of his neck. It wasn't like he was Shizuru. "You weren't hard to notice. Kind of stood out," he mumbled.

Just like she stood out now. In her eye catching looks and chirpy good nature, it was easy to take notice of her. Kuwabara shifted to gaze fully at her. "So…Botan," he began.

"The usual human doesn't notice me at all! At least, not until they cross over and move on, but you are definitely something we've taken notice of. Oh! I'm speaking on behalf of Spirit World."

His whole body lost feeling. Distantly, Kuwabara heard the thump of his schoolbag. But the dropping of his schoolbag was nothing to what this spirit-ghost became real and substantial had dropped onto him.

Spirit World? The other world? Looking for him? Like…

"Oh no, no, nothing like that!" Botan quickly spoke up. It was probably meant to be reassuring, but it sounded more as though the sheer idea of whatever she thought he was thinking was just plain silly. "Well, I will freely admit that I _am_ a spirit guide, what humans call a grim reaper, but my usual job and all the descriptions with it are not why I'm here for you."

Startled, the words burst out of him, stunned at that last bit. "Grim reaper? You're much too pretty and cheery to be a grim reaper!"

Botan pulled back, her purply-pink eyes blinking up at him, mouth parted open. Then laughed. Her hand went up, pink sleeve of her kimono tucked into the creases of her chin, her mouth and laughter still visible as though social habit had her doing the action, but her personality still shone through. Kuwabara reddened. She was laughing at him. And it didn't appe—

"Such nice words. But I assure you, I am a spirit guide Kuwabara. Or at least, that was my job description until recently. Like I was saying before, _you're_ the one we're looking for. You have great instincts and drive to reach goals, which makes for a vast potential future in the development of your abilities. You, Kazuma Kuwabara, have all that's required to be a detective of the Spirit World."

Hand shifting, Botan's finger pointed directly at him with this pronouncement. Delivering… He stared. From Spirit World. It…it wasn't going to be easy to avoid this new thing. To deal with this. This was completely crazy turned up to off the charts boss level insane. From ghosts coming to him and haunting his dreams to…to this?

Especially if it was delivered by someone this pretty. Making it sound important. And praising him.

Curiosity came to the forefront, wanting to know more from her. "De-detective?"

"Yep! Tackling any cases going on we need you to handle in the area, keeping an eye out on things you naturally already have a knack for!" Botan smiled up at him, still pretty, taking away the sting and full force of exactly what she was saying. Her beaming face and phrase echoed through Kuwabara's head. _'Already have a knack for!'_

"I'll be coming to you, supplying you with information on your cases. They won't be easy. I hope you're ready. You'll learn quickly enough, I'm sure. I saw how well you were able to boost yourself with all that motivation for Okubo. Not to mention that get-up-and go drive you have in both improving your fighting skills and using those skills to protect those who need it! You, are very impressive."

Straightforward and direct, Kuwabara's felt his entire face go warm under all her praise. "I…I'm not that impressive. I just do what any man should…"

"But not every person does choose to do so! I am sure we'll have so much fun working together! I'll be seeing you soon!"

In a flash of iridescent, an oar formed out into her hands. Kuwabara shifted back in surprise. Where did that…? It felt like… Then, she slipped the wooden oar behind and beneath her, feet hovering just above the ground. Floating. As he knew and felt from all this time before. But to see her doing it so effortlessly and brazenly in front of him like this… He stared.

Botan smiled at him and then was gone.

Kuwabara spun, following where he still sensed her. That ghost-spirit feeling he had before. Grim reaper feeling, he corrected in his head. Really? A grim reaper? Her? Squinting, he followed the area his senses told him and could briefly make out her shape and form flying off, up higher in the air and back into the direction he'd come from in the first place. Towards Sarayashiki Junior High.

"Seeing me soon," he said to himself. Then shook his head. "I wonder what exactly she wants me to do. Huh. A detective of Spirit World. I guess it sounds…impressive. Spirit World. Noticed me?"

Kuwabara shivered to himself.

Despite the pretty face to go along with the introduction, still kind of creepy. But… He reddened, smiling and feeling all sorts of goofy and warm. Botan sure was nice and pretty. He practically floated through checking the area for punks looking for trouble.

Kazuma Kuwabara, Sarayashiki Junior High's number one punk.

But it was probably a good thing that what Yukimura said could be true in Urameshi having this area covered. He wasn't in top form. Not with his chest brimming at the attention of Botan and his mind turning over her words in his head.

Kazuma Kuwabara. A Spirit World detective?

* * *

AN: And here is the start of the next part, a new chunk of chapters. I'll be slowing up a bit in posting. Posting up the chapters for the first part daily was a bit, well. Gap time might be nice, no? Except I still want to make sure it's the same, keep my promise of getting the chapters for a chunk up fairly quickly. I'll be posting this next part, section, chunk of the story twice a week. Sunday and Thursday. Once again, there will be time between this part and the next part, as I'll only start posting again when I have the next part of the story all typed out, but once I start posting a part, I plan to get chapters up fairly quickly. There are 9 chapters set for the second part.


	12. Chapter 12

**A Thousand Times**

It turned out, being a detective for Spirit World wasn't so much of the investigating that first came to mind for Kuwabara. Shaking, he stared up at the house before him, determined to keep Botan's high opinion of him. He gulped. Except, well, this was pretty much the exact opposite of what he'd been spending most of his life doing. Keeping as much distance as he could from things like this. As much as he possibly could.

Bonus part of being in the Kuwabara family.

With about everyone in his family very much aware, there were enough run-in stories that were passed down to teach the younger ones about the possible dangers. Shizuru herself had a terrifying one, coolly telling her own experience about that old notable library with all the ghost stories other kids told each other in mock scary voices and giggles, leaving him damn sure he _never_ went in there if he could help it. And everyone just knew his older cousin Mayaya had been changed after coming across this old Chinese ghost back when she was a kid. It wasn't really bad per say, he'd had lots of great times together with her talking on about samurais and their honor, but it could have gone much worse like the story told about his father's deceased great aunt.

"Seems active tonight," he commented as he tried to mentally steel himself for going in there.

Botan turned to him, the surprise and delight evident on her face, as well as shining through the faint vibes of accident incoming from her. Which, that was not helpful in facing this situation. He took in a deep breath of air through his nose, squaring his shoulders.

"Wait."

He froze. It may take him longer with some things compared to his older sister, but he still noticed that.

"The ghost isn't alone up there. Not like usual. That's…that's not… It's not like a soul passing, but more like a certain kind of meditation and, oh man, this ain't good Botan! I've heard a couple stories of my family running into a ghost like this! It's forcing the soul separation on someone! We got to help!"

"Well yes, that's why I told you to come here to—Kuwabara!"

She shouted, but he had already kicked the door down and pounding up the stairs.

Kuwabara skidded to a halt just into the bedroom where he sensed the ghost. Taken aback by the sight that greeted him, he stared. More startled, the two kids stared up at him, toys scattered all around them.

And they were all around them. As in, some were floating. Jerking Kuwabara back to the fact of, kid or not, still a ghost that could do real harm. Still…

"It's just a kid. Playing."

The girl, the ghost, who appeared more nervous. She peered anxiously up at Kuwabara from behind the boy she was playing with. It was the boy, the one who'd been soul separated, who spoke first to Kuwabara.

"Who are you?"

And with that, the girl was emboldened, shifting closer to the boy, stubborn defiance set in her jaw.

"Go away! We're just having fun."

"Uh." He mentally scrambled. This didn't seem like a ghost who was doing this on purpose. More of just a kid wanting to play with another kid. "Ya don't have room for one more? I mean, floating toys, kind of cool."

Gesturing to a stuffed bunny in overalls, he quickly grabbed a hold of it to both stop the unnerving floating and so his shivering limb wasn't exceedingly obvious to the kids. Floating toys were creepy. It wasn't like the old woman with the axe, so… Better?

The boy's face just kind of, lit up. "Really? You want to hang out with us?"

Kuwabara sighed in relief. The girl appeared to be attached to the boy, so if Kuwabara did not make any move to separate them and the boy was excited about another joining them, then it stood to reason Kuwabara should be fine. The fun bit was going to be talking reason into the ghost while he was allowed in.

"I dunno." The girl studied him, clearly having reservations about someone joining. Outside the boy she was clearly attached to, the boy she'd separated from his body to play specifically with her, a chosen playmate. Unlike Kuwabara. "It's always just been me and Souta."

"Oh, come on Sayaka," the boy, Souta, pleaded, his eyes watery. "It'd be nice to have another friend. He can join us too."

Sayaka's little nose wrinkled. "Fine," she relented.

The stuffed bunny in hand, Kuwabara grinned and sat down with the two kids, setting the bunny onto his lap. "So, it's Souta and Sayaka then? My name's Kazuma. Kazuma Kuwabara. Pretty much everyone calls me by Kuwabara."

Souta beamed. "Hi Kuwabara! We were playing connect the dots."

"Connect the dots?"

He shifted his gaze to the girl, making sure to pay attention to her too, not wanting the ghost to feel as though he was going to take the boy away from her. Well, he kind of was when you got down to it, but he didn't think it'd be good to point that out straightaway. Ghosts were stubborn enough about doing as they wanted, lingering on Earth, not moving on. Much less kids. He didn't think he'd have much luck, but if he could, with his stronger sixth sense compared to Souta, he could direct Sayaka's attachment elsewhere. Perhaps, shifting it onto him.

Little round marbles, balls, and broken odds and ends from the floor lifted up between them. Kuwabara stared and pulled back a little. Sayaka's mouth lifted up, smirking. "Connecting the dots to make shapes. Like chairs and ducks and dogs."

Souta drooped a bit at the last example. "I'm always seeing dogs. Becau—"

"Kuwabara?"

He yelped. "Botan!" Kuwabara had completely forgotten about Botan outside! Scrambling up from where he'd fallen, he stood there awkwardly, between the former grim reaper and ghost and the boy the ghost had latched onto. This couldn't be good.

Kuwabara swiveled his head back and forth. Botan's head stuck around the edge of the doorframe, curious. And the two startled kids were stiff, wide eyed as when he'd suddenly appeared. Botan stepped inside. Sayaka did the same shifting close to Souta as before, except her eyes were already narrowed.

Did she know? That Botan was a grim reaper?

"This is Botan! She's someone I know andshewantedtobefriendyoutwotoo," he spewed out hurriedly and hoping.

Off put, Souta pulled back, closer to Sayaka.

Oh no. Oh, nonono.

"Really?"

Kuwabara stepped back. Then heard the crackle, saw the spurts of light forming in Sayaka's hand as the ghost stepped in front of Souta. Kuwabara took another hasty step back. There was no way he wanted to be attacked with that! An axe swung at him was one thing, but this?!

Botan laughed nervously from somewhere behind him. Near the door he was inching backward towards. "Uh, hello there."

"Uh, Sayaka? What are you—"

"Leave us alone. _Go away!_"

A crackle, spitting, firing up, air currents shifting and pulling and whipping around her nightgown, Souta raising his arms to cover his head, then…**ZAAK!**

* * *

AN: Anyone recognize the familiar face of Sayaka? Admittedly, I am pulling more from manga than the anime version for her. And the boy, Souta, never appeared for the anime. For those who haven't read the manga, you should be good. Only a heads up if you recognized Sayaka's name there and had any confusion over changes with her.


	13. Chapter 13

**A Thousand Times**

Sluggishly, Kuwabara wrote notes for the class. Determination was seeing him through most of it. Squinting at his writing, he attempted to reread it, failing to remember exactly what it was he had meant to write and was supposed to write. Pinching himself just under his sleeve, he twisted a bit, sending a sharp wave of 'pay attention' to his body.

It worked.

For all of maybe 30 seconds.

When the class ended, Kuwabara groaned, slumping his head down onto the coolness of his desk. He _knew_ it was whatever spirit energy he got blasted with. Hopefully not anything too much in any possible soul separation, if that happened, hell if he knew about that from last night. Yeah, last night. The gang didn't ask him about missing any days when he hurried, fast as he could, to school and past the gate. So he had only been out for an entire night. So, good, kind of with that part of what happened?

Well, at least it was really good and for once, something in the universe working to his advantage in its timing with any family calling him out on sixth sense things. Especially with Shizuru. Dad was more… Well, Dad tended to not know about things and let him and Shizuru have freedom. Until he decided it was time to let the people around him know he knew the entire time.

But he couldn't know this time. From the calendar and notes up, Kuwabara had really lucked out. Besides the cats, he was the only one home when he bolted awake this morning. Everyone else had been elsewhere yesterday.

The luck could _not_ last.

He was going to be called out by someone in his family soon enough when they saw him. Or got anywhere close enough to sense him. And possibly realize his intention of going back.

And if he survived that, he still had scrambling to catch up in schoolwork, the newfound zeal to learning he hadn't had since he was in elementary. This, the mission or being Spirit World detective, whichever, was certainly not going to help. But. Kuwabara raised his head up from his desk, eyes narrowing. He was going to do it. He was.

"Yukimura!"

The girl's name burst from him without full realization until he realized he had burst up out of his seat, sending nearby students pulling back in screeches.

"Sorry, sorry! 'cuse me!"

She was class rep. Pretty smart. And didn't care about bad rumors or nothing! He could ask Yukimura about notes and help with studying!

"Hey, Yukimura!"

From up ahead in the hallway, she turned and Kuwabara quickly leaned away from her. The fierce scowl on her face suddenly cleared at spotting his reaction. With a blink of her eyes, the girl shifted into a warm smile that belied any underlying emotion. Woah. Scary. Impressive too. And…who got Yukimura into such a warpath?

"Oh, hey Kuwabara. Sorry. I was just on my way up to hunt down Yusuke."

"Uhh." He blinked again. "Hunt down…" He drew himself upright, voice low. "What did he do?"

She blinked this time, startled at his demeanor change. Then a real smile cracked through. "Oh, it's nothing like that. He's actually been, better? Better. Actually showing up to school every day since he was unexpelled. Except he's still skipping out of classes, not leaving early like I thought he'd been doing for a bit. So I _know_ he's here _somewhere_. And I made sure he did the homework for our next class today and he chose _now_ to disappear."

At the anger slowly filling up her face and tone again, all Kuwabara could do was blink and go, "Oh." And stand there staring at her, admiring her and thinking Urameshi did not fully appreciate Yukimura. "I can help look," he offered. "Make sure that punk shows up for your next class?"

Her shoulders relaxed, head turning to look him straight on with relief and thanks in her eyes. "Oh, would you? That'd be great. I mean, I've always gotten on him about schoolwork and sometimes it gets through to him. But he did recently take a spoken interest without prompting in school, thanks to that deal Mr. Akashi pulled on you, so…just maybe… Well, between the two of us, we probably have a shot and are doubling chances in trying to find him. I'll start with the roof then. Thanks for your help Kuwabara!"

She beamed up at him.

He fumbled a bit. "Uh, yeah! Right! I'll search the grounds."

"Meet you in the middle!"

Kuwabara turned about, jogging down the hallway and the stairwell. As he reached the door, he paused. How exactly did that happen? Looking for Urameshi wasn't out of the ordinary for him. But the reason this time was definitely out of the ordinary. Was it as strange as Yusuke showing up at the Kuwabara household to help him with studying?

Er, no. Kuwabara held some care, showing up all day and at least doing some bit of work, versus Yusuke's obvious disregard for school. And now he had more care for school after that deal, struggling and putting more effort into studying since that happened, even with meeting Botan tossed into the mix of things.

Pausing in checking the grounds of an area that felt promising, the thought of the pretty lady had Kuwabara sighing and smiling. He'd managed to protect her from that blast. After all, there had to be someone who got him to his bedroom and into bed. Ah. Strong _and_ pretty.

"I don't want you to think I'm weird or anything, but won't you please please please just kiss me."

Jolted at the far too close voice, Kuwabara screeched and reared backward. "How'd you get so close witho—what the uuugh! Kiss you?!"

Urameshi tilted back and snickered. "I mean, really, that kind of lovesick look is disturbing on any face, but on you? Downright terrifying." He leaned forward, leering, eyebrows raised up and waggling. "What happened? Someone take you to bed last night? Or just dreaming about some lady out of your league taking you to bed? Yeah, that sounds far more likely with you."

The edge of Urameshi's mouth lifted up into a leer and leaned farther forward, in a way that had Kuwabara automatically leaning away and hairs up on edge.

"Alright, lemme give ya a few tips, man to uh, you are a man, aren't you? First, give'em a big squeeze."

The heels of Urameshi's hands pushed up from under his chest area and then wrapped over with a squeeze over the out of season green school uniform. It was as if Kuwabara's entire face had gone red, freezing up at the sheer magnitude of what his rival was demonstrating, only a few scant centimeters separating them. And it was as though this reaction sparked a demonic looking glint in his rival's brown eyes, the leering grin growing even more dangerously up at Kuwabara. The boy wiggled and shimmied closer, mouth opening to speak again, but it broke off into hysterics, shaking with mirth at the atrocious noise that burst out from Kuwabara's lips as Kuwabara scrambled away.

"UGH! You're disgusting Urameshi! Like I would treat a lady with such disrespect! And speaking of the treatment of a lady…"

Marching forward, finger up, Kuwabara slowed in surprise as Urameshi, that disrespectful punk, leaned back with a look of panic and fear on his face. Then watched in bafflement as the other suddenly backpedaled, swearing under his breath, the swear cut off by the most glorious slap Kuwabara had ever seen delivered upon a person. Flinging his hands out of his pockets, Urameshi failed in managing to get them out in time break the fall and his head hit the outer part of the school.

"Don't you be encouraging Kuwabara with your pervert ways Yusuke!" Hands on her hips, the wind picked up just then to blow her hair and sailor uniform dramatically as Yukimura pinned Urameshi down with a savage scowl under a violent, narrow-eyed glare. "He's got a good heart and is very conscientious!"

Blown away, Kuwabara gapped at her, mouth open. Something like amazement. Possibly in admiration.

"Exactly. Encouraging? I wasn't encouragin' nothin'. It's not like he'd do anything, not with that stupid face," Urameshi grumbled at the ground as he sat up. His eyes peered slowly up to Yukimura, pulling a face Kuwabara had only seen little children try to get away with. "Ow, my h—"

"I'm sure your head is just fine Yusuke, you are certainly hard headed enough!"

Yukimura cut his petulant rival off, stomping directly in front of him, continuing her loud lecture. Urameshi hunched his shoulders up, diverting his eyes and sat there taking it. Kuwabara's mouth dropped farther and farther open.

"I figured you'd be sulking around and skipping classes! If you're going to be on school grounds, you might as well show up to class and not _flunk_! I know you have the homework done! I made sure you did it! But _I_ have to go looking for you and you know that it's me as the class officer who is gonna get it for you not showing up! And you think it's so cool to then mess with Kuwabara here, who was only being his nice self and helping me find you!"

Urameshi threw his hands up in the air. "Alright already! I got it! I'll go, jeez." Mouth scrunched up in dislike, he got himself up, and then he glowered over at Kuwabara. "Figures it was only a matter of time before the two of you teamed up in looking for me. Good thing you're the exact opposite of not noticeable and I got away before Keiko spotted me."

"Try the word subtle and you were in the hallway, but made me come all the way out here for you?"

Kuwabara blinked, straightening at the quick glare she delivered at Yusuke. He knew she was something before today, but now he was really humbled and full of respect for her.

"That's his fault." Yusuke scowled back over at Kuwabara. "As soon as I saw that stupid gooey look on your face, I couldn't resist. I shoulda been able to chase you off in pure shock to your stupid sensibilities. Almost did. You're both pains. At least it's Takenaka's class. See Keiko? I'm going."

With a great show of scuffing his feet about, the back of Yusuke's greased back hair moved away and disappeared through the doors of Sarayashiki Junior High. All the fierceness and alert tension left Yukimura's body. Kuwabara watched as all signs of that full force person fading away back, but not fully, to the Yukimura he was used to seeing. Some things could not be forgotten.

"Oh," she said softly in surprise. "He actually did go back in rather than make another run for it. Sorry, Kuwabara. Yusuke reminded me. You came looking for me before."

"Er, right!" Jolted out of what just happened, he rubbed under his nose, feeling a bit hesitant. Yukimura continued looking up at him in clear signs of patiently waiting though. "Uh, I was going to ask about notes and possibly studying together? I mean, after that whole thing with Akashi, well, it kind of accidentally actually got me back into being all excited about school? I mean, I always have and made sure to come every day because school is important, even if motivation on doing the work with, er, well…"

"I understand," Yukimura said.

"You do?" He goggled at her. She raised an eyebrow. "Oh right, Urameshi."

She let out a long breath. "Certain…attitudes of people aren't exactly conducive to learning. I'm not blind," she said to his startled look. Kuwabara quickly nodded, agreeing with her. "But I suppose that's a good thing. Ah, that you found the drive to go with the value you place on learning," she clarified and asked all at once.

"Yeah."

Yukimura suddenly clapped her hands together. "That's right! Yusuke searched you down for studying that one time. I'll help you, Kuwabara. Oh, sorry, I didn't mean it like… You're a good friend Kuwabara, of course I'll help with sharing notes and studying with you. It'd be nice and a good way to spend more time together."

She smiled warmly up at him. He stared, utterly flummoxed. Good friend?

"We should probably get back inside before the next class begins."

"Uh, yeah! R-right! We better hurry Yukimura!"

"Keiko is fine. You can call me Keiko. Is it alright if I use Kazuma? Only, it seems from what I've noticed you prefer…are you okay?"

Tripping, stumbling his way back up, he hurried to catch up and pass her. "I'm good!"

They were in a hurry and class started soon and he didn't want to be late, much less her be late, and she couldn't see how red his face might be right now, if it was red, oh it had to be red from either a cute girl saying his first name and one that just called him a friend or for sure it had to be red from hitting his head when he fell from hearing her say that.

High pitched, he called back. "Kuwabara! I prefer Kuwabara!" Like he could handle her saying Kazuma again! And taking notice of his preferences! "Let's hurry up! Uh, okay, uh, Keiko?"

"That's right Kuwabara. Let's get to it! Oh, Yusuke would never let me live it down if he was in the classroom and I ended up late. And he _better_ be in the classroom."


	14. Chapter 14

**A Thousand Times**

Splitting off with his gang after school, Kuwabara made off in the direction of the house haunted by Sayaka earlier than he did the previous night. It was early. Being that Souta wouldn't be asleep at the moment. But that was a bit of the point. If he could be there before the kid had his soul separated another time, then he had a chance at seeing it didn't happen. Kuwabara was not really all together sure about the chance being high, yet it was still a chance and more than waiting until Sayaka would be active and already pulling the boy out from a proper sleep.

Hopping and sliding himself up onto the wall, he tugged out his schoolwork, determined to get some done while he waited around until Sayaka started becoming active.

There was no way he was going to head home between school and dealing with this. He may have lucked out before, but his luck was not _that_ good. Wincing, he shifted sideways on the wall, the thought of this not being figured out before he went home tonight hitting him. Shizuru made herself very clear on what she thought of him rushing into danger over his head. Like him rushing up and challenging Urameshi on his bad days. Treading from rushing in on normal danger to the abnormal type dangers... Well.

Pushing the thought of that aside, shoving it forcefully away from terrifying him on top of what he was already planning to get further involved in, Kuwabara awkwardly managed to prop a notebook up onto his knee and tilted to read the book positioned on the wall under his legs as he took notes.

"Cry baby, cry baby!"

Drawn out of his focus, Kuwabara glanced over as a kid went streaking past him. Blubbering and bawling. Two other kids followed at a slower jog, smirking and laughing at the back of the first kid.

"Still crying about a stupid dog! It's dead, cry baby!"

"Hey!"

The two young boys skidded to a halt, going wide eyed as they looked up at him, then bolted, screaming. Shaking his head, Kuwabara sat back up on the wall and turned his head to see where the other kid had gotten to. He slowed and straightened.

From the house next to Sayaka's haunting spot, the house he swore he spotted the crying kid running into, was the faintest feeling of otherworldly. It was small. Yet it'd only cropped up after the kid ran in. Loyalty and caring. If Kuwabara had to guess off of that and what the two boys had been using to taunt…it appeared as though the soul of the dog was lingering. Staying there. For that blubbering kid. The kid seemed pretty torn up about the dog passing away and it didn't look like he had friends his own age. Poor kid.

Wait.

His pencil fell from his hand.

Right next door? And the other night, Souta had said something about dogs. The boy had been almost too excited about the prospect of having Kuwabara as a friend. Little kids did tend to look up and admire those older, wanting to be friends with them and he'd not thought much of it, but…

Oh man. The boy had lost a precious pet recently, hadn't he?

But if Souta's dog was lingering around to comfort the boy, where was—Kuwabara shifted and pushed himself up to see the doghouse—Jiro the other night with Sayaka? Animals were at times more sensitive to these kinds of things. Perhaps being a soul, the girl a ghost, and Souta having his soul separated…perhaps the dog didn't sense the danger of it as well since all of them weren't physical entities at night? And Jiro only saw his owner finally having a friend outside of a pet?

Kuwabara frowned. Things of the otherworldly sort were harder to pin down. There wasn't the same following of rules that held up in day to day life. Well, unless you were in the Kuwabara family or had some sort of ability for this sort of thing.

Still. He'd never really dug farther than he had to or what had been informed of by older family members for these things. Just, really avoided. Well, tried to avoid. For the most part. The focus of them tended to be on him. But with others… This is probably why he was told more fear inducing stories by older family members. And him being a bit of a punk was far more accepted.

_'Focus your need to help others in more manageable situations, like schoolyard bullies, okay Kazuma? You're still a kid and aren't trained. Not like your grandfather's sister was.'_

_'But what about—'_

_'Know your own strength. As it grows, your ability to handle more of those other situations will grow as well. Time. It requires patience. Waiting to see. And a bit of hard work.'_

_'It'll grow? Then…I can still help?'_

_'In time.'_

_'Okay Great Grandmother. I'll wait.'_

Kuwabara drew in a steadying breath.

It'd only been a couple of months since she had passed. While it was not the most shocking as she'd been declining in health the past year, it still shook him and the family up. She'd always seemed like she was always going to be around to him. He knew it wasn't true, but it always seemed that way and she'd been the one to reassure him about things. His fears about not making friends at school, talk him through his impatience about things, unusual family stuff…

To have a cornerstone of your life taken away.

Kuwabara sighed, rubbing a hand down his face as he stared at the house next door. He understood. Grasping a hold of something was needed. He gravitated toward more time with his gang and patrolling the area for any troublesome punks and pushing himself into rumbles with Urameshi to get stronger. This kid needed something. Someone. And Sayaka was a lonely thing too.

He couldn't not help. There'd been a marked surge in his ability for sensing things and more of those things gravitating toward him of late. Which didn't seem all that strange since his great grandmother had passed on. If a bit scary and annoying and maybe a bit exciting in the growth.

As startling as it was, it felt as though Botan coming forward was fitting and perfect and destined the more he thought on it.

Something new to grasp a hold of after his great grandmother passed. And in remembering that conversation from years ago about his need to jump in and help. The time he'd been yelled at and given far more fear talks after the older members of the Kuwabara family realized and jumped in to manage it much better than his attempt had gone.

Besides his dad. His dad had chortled and joked about the situation, not offering advice or assuring, but laughing about the thoughtless actions that lead to the whole big mess. Then steered him over to Great Grandmother.

If Souta had grasped a hold of Sayaka at this time of his beloved pet passing, and couple that with Sayaka's attachment onto Souta, this just got much harder than Kuwabara originally bargained for when he went barging into the house last night.


	15. Chapter 15

**A Thousand Times**

"You're here! And early! That's a quick recovery."

Jolting, Kuwabara grabbed a hold of the wall to stay seated upright. She didn't see that, did she? He quickly looked up and saw Botan's lip twitch at him. His shoulders slumped a little, relaxing rather than forcing his back to stay ramrod straight. It wasn't as though he hadn't sensed her. That brief surprise and relief of emotions, cheerfully bubbly personality set with the undertone of accident incoming, well, that was all Botan. It was just… She was back even with him not getting it the night before. And, he'd been surprised at the loud vocal greeting from that distance aimed at him.

Hopping off the wall, he puffed up his chest and smiled with assurance, bravado. "Fast recovery, that's right. That's me, Kazuma Kuwabara."

A giggle spilled out past her lips and he grinned at hearing he was the cause. Then she straightened, her bright face going solemn. "That's what I've read. But there is a difference between say, those fights with local young troublemakers and someone like Sayaka. We must really proceed with caution if we are to continue engaging with her and the boy."

"Souta." He turned his upper body to look once again to the house next door. "He's about as lonely as she is…"

"What was that Kuwabara?"

"Nothing." He turned back to her. "Er, you got any tips in how to block that?"

It didn't need explanation on what he meant. Botan's eyebrows went down in disappointing apology and she shrugged helplessly. "Duck. Honestly, your awareness and abilities, not to mention recovery is above normal for most humans, but you'd need more time for development and any training to tackle that on headfirst without aftereffects. Oh! But you were very chivalrous."

The effort was nice, but the soothing smile and honest delivery of it didn't help much.

"Figured."

He'd asked, but already knew the answer from what older family members had been saying for years on the matter. While he had enough in him to have his recovery time from such an attack take Botan by surprise, his ability to tackle this sort of thing was…low.

Making himself stay away from this sort of thing for the past few years likely didn't help. Even if not stepping in hurt him, he knew it was beyond him when it was beyond him and he knew enough with better abilities to get the message out of someone needing help. And anything otherworldly that had sought him out, well, he'd done what he could in little tricks taught when a kid to help lower anything he was sending out to garner the attention or just well, dealt with it and took it as that's just how his life was. Except as of late with the marked surge in things.

Letting out a sigh, he rubbed at the back of his head. There had to be some way he could work this out.

"Could try talking to the kid, kids have more belief in the unseen. Typically. Except, she's a friend when he doesn't realize he's got his dog hanging around," Kuwabara mused to himself. "Might fight me, even if I could get him to believe being friends with her like this is doing him harm."

"Dog? You're able to sense specifically that that is a dog the next house over? Souta's house?"

Absentmindedly, he nodded, trying to work out the possibilities.

He didn't have much to work with for tools or tricks of any abilities, but he'd rather talk it out over force. Even if he failed the night before. They were both just kids. Two lonely little kids.

"Can't work with the fact of his dog hanging around as it didn't seem the dog feels the danger or warning Souta about hanging out with Sayaka. Even if it looks as though his dog was such a strong cornerstone of his life and best friend with seeing those other kids bullying him."

Odd though. The dog still lingering. As it didn't feel Sayaka was a danger. So why linger? Perhaps talking with the boy about gaining confidence to stand up and make friends, make him less susceptible to Sayaka forcing his soul from his body. Except. Sayaka and Souta were already attached to each other. And talking with her… Even if she didn't realize, Kuwabara didn't think she'd see much to avoid at knowing that, knowing what she was doing to him. It'd get her a long term and not just at night friend.

Maybe pointing out to Souta the kind of attack she pulled the night before? Relate her to bully terms? Someone to avoid? That sounded better. Eh, it didn't sound the best, but it was the best one so far. It'd have more chance of working if the two kids had only known each other for a short time. But for a longer time to build up this weird friendship, probably not high chances there.

"That's…"

At the trailing off, Kuwabara pulled his head back over to look at Botan. Her purply-pink eyes shifted away from him and to Souta's house, teeth biting at her lower lip. He watched as she fidgeted and frowned, wondering what was causing that.

"What is it Botan?"

Hesitant, she spoke up. "I _could_ gi—

"Hey! Over here!"

Catching sense of Sayaka above and active, Kuwabara shouted up. He jumped. Waved his arms. Focused on doing the opposite of the lowering anything he was sending out, feeling something under his skin spark and flare in sudden liberty and joy in doing something with it, in doing something that felt right, in doing something with it.

He barely registered the sudden intake of air next to him.

He paused, just feeling that feeling soaking him through.

And it hit him with sudden clarity. He had this.

"Hey, Sayaka! Down here!"

He pushed the energy in him higher, demanding her attention, rather than avoiding. Waving his hands up at her as he felt her pause, her shape going from fuzzy to far more clear as he saw her stop in flying over to Souta's house and turn to look down at him in stunned surprise. He grinned up at her.

Pick me instead, he thought. Right now, pick me. Leave Souta be for just a while. Pick me.

"Sayaka! It's me, Kuwabara! From the other night, remember? And Botan! The one who wanted to be your friend too!"

The girl floated up there, nightgown stilling around her feet, surprise fading as she stared down at him, studying him for a long moment. Her head tilted at him. Then she moved, decision made.

Continuing her destination to Souta's house.

Crap.


	16. Chapter 16

**A Thousand Times**

Kuwabara could hear them arguing as he made his way up the stairs.

Er, well, not really arguing per say. But it did sound something like disagreement and a bit of protest from Souta about the blast of energy she fired at Kuwabara and Botan the night before. The boy's voice quivered a bit at bringing it up. Maybe bringing up similarities with bullies and abusing power might work? Hopeful, he continued, glancing back to check on Botan. She peered up in big eyed anticipation past him as she tread carefully along the edge of the stairs

"Don't worry. That guy is fine. Same with _her_." Sayaka paused. "Quit it. I told you, they're _fine_. Fine enough to be creeping outside."

"I wasn't creeping, I was waiting!"

Souta's eyes went wide at his entrance. But Sayaka crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at him.

He laughed nervously. "Uh, hi. You didn't come down to see me so I, uh, came up here to see you. With Botan."—"Hello!"—"And I'm kind of with Souta here about that blast last night. We're okay, but it really wasn't the nicest. What if I didn't have a bit of spirit energy to bounce back from that? It could have been really bad for me."

Souta's eyes went wider. "How bad? Like…bruises or…broken bones?" His amber brown flickered to Sayaka who blinked and shrugged and looked uncertain about the answer. Then Souta looked back over, froze at the sight of Botan, his eyes even wider when they went back to Kuwabara. "Worse?"

Kuwabara nodded.

"Sayaka!"

The boy couldn't manage anything else other than wide, wet eyes and a quivering voice to go with his trembling. Her own eyes wide at the affirmation, Sayaka stared back at Souta. Then drew in a breath and snapped her head back to Kuwabara, narrowing her eyes.

"It's your own fault if it had been," she bit over at him. "I told you to leave us alone."

News of it being referred to as winding up worse though, seemed to rattle her. And before. When she was harsh with Souta before they came in. It was almost…defensive? Even when it came to just, well, _being_. The suspicion of newcomers and protective over having managed to find a new friend. Defensive. She was just a child still.

And perhaps a bit scared of what she was actually capable of. Or of losing the new friend due to her using it and lashing out another attack. Because, well, she was close fisted and clearly glaring at him and Botan, yet…containing it. Keeping herself closed off, arms tucked close rather than preparing to fling out another burst of energy at Kuwabara.

"I just, I really want to help, that's all," he said earnestly.

"That's true," Botan agreed. "I, as well, am here to help, but Kuwabara is naturally helpful like that. Raced up here last night without a second thought otherwise as soon as he realized. Just needed a little nudge was all."

"Realized?" Souta's voice piped up in concern. He looked between both Kuwabara and Botan. "Realized what? We were… Sayaka and I were just playing before you came up."

Kuwabara fidgeted, then stepped closer to the kids, leaning himself awkwardly so he wasn't towering so much over them and could better look them in the eye. "Yeah. Well, it's just, I'm a Kuwabara. My family has long had a knack for noticing things others miss. More of the otherworldly and supernatural type things. A kind of…tickle feeling running through us when something is near. Like ghosts."

"Whoa. That's cool. You can see them?"

A smile cracked through at the sheer awe in Souta's voice, then Kuwabara frowned. "Yeah, but you know tha—Oh. Duh. Of course. You do know you this isn't a dream, it's too real, right? But you don't remember leaving your room?"

The boy blinked, amber eyes startled. "I uh, well, yeah. Sayaka always came to bring me here, er, I think, but I… I guess? Yeah. I never really questioned it because Sayaka's a good friend and I trust her."

Kuwabara chuckled. Sayaka's cheeks had done a lovely blush at that.

"Oh, you two are quite adorable," Botan cooed somewhere over Kuwabara's shoulder. Which lead to Souta turning red and quickly looking down at the floor.

"That's how I know you can see a ghost too."

"Wha—" Souta's head popped back up. "I can?"

"Me."

At hearing the soft tone and simple declaration, Souta turned to look at Sayaka. "You?" He asked in shock.

"Me," she said simply once again with her eyes to the side.

"You," he repeated.

"Yes."

"You."

"I already said me and yes, just tell me if you're going to run away from me like all the other kids!"

Souta jolted. "Of course not! You're my friend! And the first ghost I've ever met! I just thought maybe you had some sort of superpower, like in those American comics. You know, with the superheroes like…like the Scarlet Witch or something!"

Startled, Sayaka stared back, tension leaving her. "Oh." She smiled softly. "Thanks Souta."

"Huh? What for?"

Kuwabara waited, but she merely shook her head and didn't answer the question. So he cleared his throat. "Right. Back to what I was saying. Things I've heard and have been passed down in my family about this kind of situation. And uh, why I came running up last night. Until I saw it was just two kids playing. The reason why you can see her is because she's pulled your soul away from your body at night before you two play. A bit hard to play if she didn't, but it's kind of got some consequences if the body and soul are forced apart like that too often and for longer periods of time."

"Am I hurting Souta?" The girl spun, wide eyed to Souta. "Are you in pain and didn't tell me? I…I can do it less! Like every other day so that we can still play together!"

"I feel fine. I feel fine right now, no pain. Not like during most of the day with those bullies and my dad telling me to get over losing… You're the best part of my day, the opposite of hurting or being in pain. I'd rather spend all night _and_ day here if I could."

"You very well could," Botan broke in softly.

"According to a family story," Kuwabara said to the two kids peering up at them. "Forcing the soul separation like that too many times and for too long, it tends to…stick and stay. That the soul can't go back to its body. Leading to a coma one can't wake up from. You'd feel fine now, but it's only because you're not in your body to feel it. So you likely won't know when it's too much or too long…until you can't get back one of these times. And even with a person with more ability and practice, reconnecting the soul and body connection is well…"

Souta stared up at him.

"Sayaka is the best part of my life right now. It'd just… She'd just be the best part of my afterlife too, right? I can't just leave her all alone without anyone. Without a friend. She's my best friend, my only friend since Jiro left."

"That's it!"

Botan, Souta, and Sayaka all shouted. But that wasn't important! Okay, perhaps he shouldn't have leapt up like that. Hit his head on the ceiling after all. But!

That was it!


	17. Chapter 17

**A Thousand Times**

"_What_ are you looking for?"

"I'm curious too, Kuwabara. Is there something you sense? I'm not noticing anything in here myself."

"More like not sense, but now it makes sense why I don't and why Souta has been lasting all night long of a forced soul and body separation! Not here, but maybe…there! Faint, but there!"

With a point, Kuwabara whipped his head around from a window to look at the other three. Sayaka looked like he had lost it, but at his words, her and Souta shared a look before venturing over to see what was out the window. Curious, Botan came over as well and then let out a gasp. "Oh, of course! Not here, but you really have to know what you're looking for because the poor loyal dog is so faint right now!"

"Dog?" Souta rushed the last few steps and squished his face up against the window, squinting. "Is it Jiro? It's Jiro, right? Where is he? Or can't I see him and only Sayaka with…"

Crouching down to Souta's eye level, Kuwabara redirected his finger. "Through the upstairs window, into your bedroom it looks li—"

"Jiro! I see you! I can see you! Jiro! Jiro, it's me! I'm over here! Jiro, here boy!"

Blubbering, tears rolling down his face of pure joy, Souta waved his hands wildly as he shouted.

"Why isn't he coming over? I'm calling for him over here. I saw his ear twitch. Jiro always comes when I call, even though he's an old dog." Souta's jaw shook as he looked to Kuwabara. "He always comes when I call."

A hand touched Souta's shoulder and the boy looked up to see Botan. "It's because he's a dog. A very loyal one to still be here for you. He's standing guard and protecting your body. Jiro can't leave."

"Because of me, right?" Sayaka drew her shoulders up, sucking her lips in as she stared at the ground. "Because he's making sure Souta's body is safe and that Souta can return safely when we're done playing. So Souta is okay. Because of what I did. That's what the two of you are saying, right?"

Neither Kuwabara nor Botan spoke.

Sayaka slowly peered up to Souta, then out the window to look at Jiro laying on the bed next to Souta.

"You're right Souta. Jiro is the best dog. A much better friend than me."

"You didn't know," Souta quickly defended. "It's not like you knew, Sayaka! Both of us were happy finding a new friend! You're a great friend!"

"Why don't we go over there? Since Jiro can't come over here, we can go over there." Kuwabara broke in with his suggestion, saving Sayaka from putting herself down again, to have the young ghost go down a spiral of depression and despair and destruction welded much more freely of the kinds that often and much more often lately that seemed to be finding him when he slept. "How about that? The two best and greatest friends of Souta meeting?"

Souta's face lit up. "Yeah! We'll go to Jiro! Come on Sayaka! The two of you _have_ to meet!"

Kuwabara grinned in relief and delight as a small smile came onto Sayaka's face.

"Okay. Okay, let's go. Take my hand?"

The boy put his hand easily into her hand, a broad smile still on his face. Her hand tightened and the small smile grew. Then she flew the two of them up and through the wall and over to Souta's house.

Goggling, Kuwabara stared.

Botan giggled.

He spun wide eyed at her, flabbergasted and at a loss of what to do now.

"You forgot she was more than just a little girl, didn't you?"

"No!"

He spun back to stare at the window.

"Just… I just forgot to think of how we're getting over there and in this late at night. That's all."


	18. Chapter 18

**A Thousand Times**

Thankfully or unthankfully, Botan had a solution.

It involved flying.

On an _oar_.

Her oar.

Kuwabara's first thought had been how romantic it would be. Out under the moonlight, just the two of them. Even if for such a short distance. Him seated behind such a pretty lady, arms grasped around as she flew them through the night, the wind in their hair.

The reality involved far more screaming.

And dangerously dangling feet held up by the one arm as she'd barely given out the instruction of 'grab hold' before she took off.

Thankfully, she had opened up the window before she did this. Unthankfully, Souta's window was the opposite of open and locked and the boy was in the middle of hugging Jiro tearfully and excitedly introducing his dog to Sayaka.

"Excuse me." Botan knocked on the outside of the window politely. Hand sliding on the oar, Kuwabara let out a frightful noise and tried to yank his body up to grab a hold with his free hand. Missed. "If the two of you don't mind opening the window for us? Kuwabara. Don't you think you're being a bit loud?"

"Hurry," he strangled out.

It was Sayaka who finally noticed them and gave a concentrated turn and a flick of her hand, smiling sunnily at the window unlocking and sliding open for her. "Good job," Botan congratulated her. "Very helpful."

"Still dangling here!"

"Whoopsie! Sorry about that Kuwabara."

Raised up high enough, he snagged hold and scrambled in. "Ground. Sweet blessed ground." Then sat up on the floor. "That's Jiro then. Hi."

The dog let out a faint bark, but stayed where it lay next to Souta's sleeping body. Good dog. Kuwabara turned his head. "He's a Hokkaido?"

"Yeah. Jiro came with us when we moved here over the summer, didn't you boy?"

Jiro's tail thumped, enjoying the rub down from Souta.

"So you pretty much just moved here and came in as a transfer student?"

Souta hunched closer to Jiro, still petting the dog. "Yeah."

"Still made a friend," Kuwabara pointed out. "Just…not a typical one. Let me guess, kids picked on you a bit so you found it harder to speak up and took refuge in Jiro? My friend Okubo kind of did the same thing when he transferred in during elementary. 'cept for him, it was his younger siblings, his little brother and sisters. Kirishima, another friend of ours, though not much then, kind of picked on him when he first came in. Me and Sawamura got on him about that, but Kirishima was mostly annoyed with how Okubo never really talked to him since they sat near each other in class. So we told Okubo that and the next time Kirishima tried to get Okubo to talk to him…"

Kuwabara burst into guffaws.

"What? What happened?"

"Eh, well, Okubo told him off. Loudly. With some choice phrases about there being much nicer ways to treat someone, whether they want to talk or not. Kirishima was stunned silent! Then, then, he got this huge grin on his face and loudly declared he liked Okubo and ought to be friends with him and me and Sawamura."

He grinned at Souta and the boy's round eyed amazement. "But then, this was in the middle of the classroom so we all got in trouble together for that. Starting off all four of us being friends from that day on."

Reaching over, he gave Jiro a scratch on the head, reveling in how real and soft it was. And that this was going far better than the night before. Time. And a bit of hard work. That was all that was needed. A little more tentative, he glanced to Sayaka on the other side of the bed giving Jiro slow stokes down the back. She appeared far more reserved and contemplative than combative. He looked back to Souta.

"You've got time. This new school has barely begun. Moving on without Jiro, that's hard. But I bet you can do it. Stand up against those kids picking on you. Make some friends who'll stand by you. You've already seen you can do that, make great friends. Unfortunately, well, it's probably not a great idea to keep this going. And I don't think Sayaka enjoys the thought of hurting you to keep it going, do you?"

Startled, Sayaka looked defiant for a moment, fist clenching from where she'd been petting the dog. Then she saw Souta and looked away to where his body lay under the covers. "No…"

"She…" Souta looked up to Sayaka. "You can play with Jiro! You won't be lonely anymore! And…and… I can do it. I…I can. He's right. I haven't been trying to speak up or let myself make new friends here. I can do it. This way, you don't have to worry about hurting me. And…and you'll have Jiro."

Sayaka's mouth fell open.

"That's very brave and mature for your age," Botan commented. "This way she won't be so lonely when she takes her own step in moving on like you, right? And I'll make sure they are able to move on to Spirit World safely."

"How?"

Botan smiled reassuringly at both Souta and Sayaka. "I'm a guide."

"But. What about you Souta?"

"I…I caught it earlier. Jiro felt faint. He's using himself to protect me when we spend time together. So I could have a friend. For a little while. He's not going to last long doing this, is he?"

Botan shook her head at Souta's question. He looked back to Sayaka. "And I don't want to put you in a place where you know you're hurting me or Jiro. Maybe both. I think…I think she's right. I've been moved here for a while, but I need to move on. So Jiro can. And so you can. I bet there's lots of new friends you can meet in Spirit World. And you'll already have one in Jiro. He's the best. I can tell you like him too."

The ghost girl glanced down and saw she was still stroking her hand down the dog's back. Quickly she pulled her hand away. But Souta smiled.

"It's…it's all right. See? This way, I know Jiro is in great hands."

Tears rolled down Souta's face and Sayaka's jaw trembled.

"And I promise, I promise you and Jiro that neither of you will need to worry about me. I promise. I'm going to make friends at my new school. I'm going to stop hiding and being quiet and missing friends from my old school and Jiro and…and you. I'm going to do it. You have my promise I will and I will be okay. Or at least better because I know I'll miss you. But I won't let any of that stop me from keeping my promise."

His own face wet from tears, Kuwabara sniffed. He watched the two, warmth filling his chest at having helped. At Souta finding enough in Okubo's story to it being enough push to make this move. At Sayaka putting down enough defensive layers to show her care and fear of really hurting someone, especially in Souta being hurt.

"Okay," Sayaka said quietly. "You keep that promise. And I promise I'll move on too. That I'll keep an eye out for Jiro until you can see us again. You better get as old as him too. But—are you crying?"

"It was a touching moment! Of course I am! There's nothin' wrong with a man shedding tears!"

She stared up at him and he heard Botan giggle. Hurriedly, he wiped at his face, trying to clear his vision and face. Hopefully his face didn't look too terrible.

"You are the weirdest person I've ever met. And I can make things float." Determination filled up her tiny face, standing tall from where she'd put her stroking hand back on Jiro's back, daring either him or Botan to say anything. "I have one condition. _We_ have one condition. Then we'll move on."


	19. Chapter 19

**A Thousand Times**

"That went well! Better than expected with how we left things last night!"

Botan bounced as she walked. Kuwabara watched her, all the little movements and brightness of her face. He'd been distracted in helping Souta and Sayaka earlier to really enjoy Botan's continued presence near him. But near him she had remained. Even still as they walked back to his place. Together.

"I think she sensed on some level that I'm a guide to Spirit World, after all, it was Souta who asked how she and Jiro would get there safely. That might have been what caused the flare up last night and why she's remained stuck there despite all the guides sent to talk to her. You were able to reach her though. And Souta too."

"Ah, shucks. It wasn't that great." He scratched the back of his neck, feeling a redness creeping up at Botan's face beaming back and up toward him. "They were just kids. Lonely kids. Only took a bit of time and observation to understand that. They were just…scared. Scared about moving onto the next thing in their lives. Uh, or existence."

The condition Sayaka had insisted upon was pretty telling too. The girl had said she would never pull Souta out of his body again, but she wanted to make sure he had a friend before she and Jiro moved on. So they had said their goodbyes and she'd assured him both she and his dog would be there cheering him on in making friends at the new school. Then, after that, Souta's soul was returned to his body. For hopefully the last time before the boy finally had his time to move on like Sayaka.

She had only wanted to make sure Souta was okay before moving on. Scared and worried. But for him.

"And here I thought I'd be breaking rules to help you in the idea of getting it across to Souta or her that him being forced out of his body every night was doing harm!" Botan laughed. "Turns out you never needed it! Very observant, ingenious in how you used it. Stubborn and determined on talking it out too, very different than I expected from observing those fist fights around town. But I suppose there is a history there and you _do_ go on when it's not for testing strength, but in coming across those actively causing trouble around town… Resourceful with what you've got. I like it! And as time goes on, you'll have more to work with. Oh, I knew we were going to have fun working together! This is just so exciting!"

She clapped, joyful.

Face. Definitely going red. Yep! Red!

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and face from the redness. And then he realized what she'd brushed over at the beginning of her praise. "Wait. Break the rules? What do you mean?"

"Well." Her finger posed up in the air, twirling as she spoke. "This was a first case. A bit of a test run to see how you handled under pressure. Even though my boss was sure enough you had definite potential to be an excellent choice. That it was sitting there, but needed a bit of a nudge to say it was time. At least according to a strong character witness for you in Spirit World."

"Character witness?"

Freezing, she laughed nervously, waving her hand. "Anyway, as starting tonight, being the official Spirit World Detective with fitting the parameters of solving your first case, er, of sorts. You are now able to access the tools of a Spirit Detective. Specifically made for you. There happens to be one... Give me a second."

And from seemingly out of nowhere, Botan pulled out a gray briefcase and pressed the buttons to open it. Kuwabara blinked. "Where did you pull that from?"

"From the same place I keep my oar. So, this one right here." She pointed inside the bulky case where there were several of what seemed odds and ends. In particular, Kuwabara leaned close to look, she pointed at a row of circular round…seals?

"These seals here—" Ah, he was right. "—are one of the tools. They're called Mejiru Seals. To be used in keeping track of the physical condition of the person. Changes colors. Blue is normal, easy to remember, it's the same color as your school uniform. Yellow is for minor wounds, red for major. Falls off if the person dies. These will memorize the distinctive aura print of the person who applied it and only they will be able to remove it. So say you had Souta place one on you, it works even if you guide their hand to do it by the way, you would have been able to look at the seal on you and seen what kind of physical condition Souta's body was in during this."

She paused and made a face, sweating a little.

Kuwabara stared. What was wrong? "That sounds helpful. What—Ack! That's right! Jiro would have made it look like Souta was fine. Still neat though. What do the rest do?"

Removing one, she closed the case with a click. "Another time. For now, here is the first one for you to use Kuwabara. It's a basic first. A communication mirror. One for you and one for me. It'll be so much nicer and easier to get a hold of you and tell you things. And vise versa."

With a flick of her hand, she displayed not one, but two object that appeared suspiciously like… "It looks like a compact mirror."

"It does, doesn't it?" Not seeming to find this a problem, Botan handed him one of the set. "When you open it, it will alert the other, mine, and we'll be able to speak and see one another. Handy thing."

Kuwabara opened it, momentarily seeing his own reflection, then Botan's face popped up. "Gah!" Scrambling, he managed to catch the thing. As well as his breath. "Yeah, okay. But Shizuru is still going to give me flack when she sees me staring at myself with it."

He shivered. Shizuru. Man. Finishing the walk down the road to the Kuwabara household sounded the exact opposite of fun.

Laughing nervously again, Botan tucked the case back out of view and gave him a very wide and not quite true smile. "See you for the next one then! Good night!"

With that, Botan was gone. Oar out and flying off. Easier to follow her shape this time though until she was too high to see. Sighing, Kuwabara looked down the road to the direction of home. He began the trudge back and was thrilled to see the lights off. No Shizuru. No Dad. No one. He did it. He lucked out. Unbelievable.

Plunking his backpack down on his desk, he started pulling out the one piece of schoolwork he had left to finish up before tomorrow. He whistled and turned on the lamp before sitting. Okay, right. Ugh, that's right. English. Shoot. This wasn't going to be fun. But he could do this. A mission finished and his goal of improvement in school, to go farther with—

"So, her name is Botan, is it?"

Kuwabara didn't so much as hear but felt the ear splitting unholy screech from his mouth, flinging back in his chair and crashing to the ground and spotting his older sister standing coolly right above him with a cigarette. "Shizuru!" He scrambled, moving as quickly as possible away from her reach, crab walking right into—painfully too—his bedroom wall. "I don't know what you're talking about! I don't know any rice! Er, I mean, ah crapcrapcrap!"

For she had raised up a piece of paper.

_'Kuwabara,  
When you wake from the ghost's attack,  
meet me back out in front of the house by 8 PM.  
Botan'_

"So that's what she meant by me being early," he said. And then caught Shizuru's look and went wide eyed in panic, waving his arms. "I mean, I, uh, I was helping! Talking a ghost through something, that's all, I swear!"

Shizuru's eyebrow rose. "You swear?"

"…no?"

"Good." She kicked his desk chair back up and sat in it, leaning over the back, gaze steely upon him. He gulped and scooted back farther up against the wall. "Because I know she's from Spirit World. A guide. They all avoid our house if they can help it. Did you know that? I don't think you've ever heard that particular family story. It's why I saw such a relief on her face in dragging your ass back when that silly rival of yours came across the pair of you last night. I had the honor of speaking to him on his way back out from taking you to bed."

"I, he, Urameshi, he di—"

She cut off his sputtering. "So, talk." And her cigarette left her mouth, hand casually hovering it across the back of the chair. And over his leg. Shizuru's gaze narrowed, pinning him in place. "Now."

He didn't talk.

He sung.

Like a goddamn canary.

* * *

AN: Here ends the second part with Kuwabara tackling first case, his first mission, his beginning of being the detective for Spirit World.


End file.
